2011
In 2011, we expect to generate up to 135,000 ounces of gold at an average cash cost of $671 per ounce, with our Australian mines continuing to steadily generate the majority of our output. We are moving rapidly into Phase I of the Hassaï VMS project development, which involves optimizing the operation by replacing the current heap leaching plant with a CIL plant which should allow to significantly extend the mine's life by allowing the 10.3 million tonnes of tailings accumulated since the mine start-up to be economically reprocessed, along with large quantities of high-grade ores not easily treatable by the current plant. Construction of the CIL plant is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2011.
2010
In 2010, we produced nearly 123,000 ounces of gold, with the continued ramp-up of Frog's Leg, the start-up of the White Foil mine, and higher output in Sudan. In Sudan, we completed a positive preliminary economic assessment for the Hassaï VMS deposits, defining the scope of the project and providing the basis for follow-up exploration and the construction of a CIL plant and water pipeline. We also generated excellent exploration results on some of our other tenements, most notably in Australia and Côte d'Ivoire.
Work on stabilizing our operations and building our resource base continued. The Frog's Leg mine officially entered commercial production and was a strong contributor to our 94,570 ounces of annual gold production. Cash costs steadied over the year, closing the year just 5% higher than in 2007. In Sudan, we delineated a substantial VMS resource at our Hassaï site. Stock market analysts took note of these developments, coverage increased, and LA MANCHA's share price rose dramatically.
In 2008, the previous year's investment in our producing assets began paying dividends. With the summer start-up of the Frog's Leg underground operation in Australia and mining from a new, higher-grade pit at the Ity mine in Côte d'Ivoire more than offsetting continued difficulties at the Hassaï mine in Sudan, we reported annual gold production of 71,550 ounces. We then began focusing on our exploration assets as well, starting with our four main properties, where intensive effort was rewarded with a 34% increase in our measured and indicated resource.
2007 was a year of investment, as we devoted significant resources to upgrading our African mines and revitalizing our Australian assets. Among other things, we purchased a new ball mill to improve grinding at Hassaï, completed a feasibility study for Frog's Leg and start developing the Frog's Leg underground mine. Meanwhile, strong exploration drill results drove our measured and indicated resource higher, notable at Frog's Leg, where it nearly doubled. By year end, we had taken major steps to improve production and decrease our cash costs.
The year 2006 was devoted to the acquisition of AREVA's gold business, consisting of major interests in four mines: two in Australia, one in Sudan, and one in Ivory Coast, plus substantial exploration tenements in all three countries. The transaction closed in September. La Mancha became a gold producer overnight, and set to work immediately adjusting to its new status. At year end, we were delighted to report our first ever annual gold production.
In 2005, La Mancha was a junior mining company active in exploration in Argentina, where it owned an advance-stage project. During the year, management began to contemplate the acquisition of the gold mining assets of AREVA, a French multinational, and devoted extensive time and financial resources to conducting a due diligence on the mines and exploration tenements in question. The proposed acquisition was subsequently announced on January 10, 2006.